The Confessions of The Oven and Me

Hey Everyone! Welcome back to The Confessions of a Random Blogger. Today’s post is a collaboration with “The Oven and Me.” You can check out her amazing blog here! 

So, this post was actually supposed to be Episode 3 of “The Modern Day Julie/Julia Project,” a series where I’ve been teaching myself how to cook.

After last time’s extremely successful French Toast, I said that I would make something beer battered, and my reason for that was “because it sounded cool.” So I decided to make beer battered onion rings.

Very soon after publishing that post, a bit of research broke the news that making beer battered onion rings is a lot more work than just throwing onions into beer and frying them. 

However, I still decided to try; firstly because I promised you guys, and secondly because of the whole “cool factor.”

I was also unable to make them and take my mediocre pictures at the same time, so I brought my Dad into the kitchen to be my photographer.

Unfortunately, the products of this doomed photography session were several out of focus pictures of my Dad’s thumb.

That was when I decided that I would need a lot more help than the pictures of my Dad’s thumb could provide.

I contacted one of my friends; who is actually a chef in the making (I’m so proud of her); and asked her why she thought my onion rings turned out so badly.

We decided that instead of hundreds of frantic video calls from my kitchen; that we should collaborate and make them together!

So this post consists of 2 different levels of cooking. Level One is the failed attempt from my kitchen. Level Two is the updated edible version.

Let’s get started! 

Level 1

You can find the original recipe I used here. However, this wouldn’t be one of my posts if I didn’t substitute half the ingredients, so I just used whatever I had available. The result is in no way indicative of the quality of the recipe- I just don’t belong in a kitchen!

First of all, I have no idea what “pale ale beer” is, so I just used an old Kingfisher I found in my fridge.

I also didn’t have white onions so I used red onions- I don’t think it made much of a difference. Also can someone please explain why they’re called red onions when they’re… pink?

So I made the beer batter first, which was straightforward enough. Two cups of beer for the batter, one cup for me.

The Oven and Me said that I was supposed to add the beer in intervals instead of just dumping it all in at the same time- oops.

The issue was with the onions. Now, I’ve never actually cut an onion before, so before you ask, yes, I did look up a YouTube video on how to cut an onion. However, a few tears later (you can decide whether they were the result of the chopped onions or failure) I ended up with a few slightly deformed rings.

Now, while they tasted decent enough, I was slightly disappointed in the presentation. 

Today’s Injury- Several burns on my hands from the oil spattering. My fault.

The Oven and Me was also incredibly disappointed in my presentation- but we can’t all go to culinary school!

Level 2

These onion rings were a collaborative effort between the two of us! We decided to switch the type of batter we used for a couple of reasons:

1. She says that beer is only used for its carbonation, and so technically, any carbonated drink would create the same effect. We used soda!
2. Beer is much more expensive than plain soda, so I had to sacrifice my whole “cool factor” for financial security.

Now, almost immediately, she figured out what went wrong with my batch- I didn’t know how to cut the onions properly. The Youtube video betrayed me… 

No but seriously, I feel like a changed man- now I can cut onions! I’ll cut them really badly- but I’ll cut them nonetheless.

She also pointed out that the reason I was getting burnt was because the flame was too strong. 

Initially, we decided to coat the onion rings with crushed potato chips as sort of a breadcrumb experience, but it didn’t exactly work- so we picked up 2 spoons and just attacked it!

So, once again, a few tears later, we managed to make our onion rings. 

Not only did they taste incredible, but she got the chance to show off her culinary photography which you can see below.

Today’s Injury- My Pride.

Check out her post here!

Since this post was supposed to be an episode of “The Modern Day Julie/Julia Project,” I’ll just update you about what I’ll be making next time!

We will be making…(drumroll please) a collection of microwaveable meals! From microwave mac and cheese to microwave cakes- it’s just going to be one huge experiment!

I also need a break from the stove for a few days- let’s let my burns and pride heal!

Thank you for reading! 

Until Next Time.